Breaking down all the excess at alls. It's Steve Riverra and Jakin Salves.
This is I on the Ball on Fox Sports fourteen fifty. Hey, welcome
back to our on the ball here on Fox Sports fourteen fifty. I'm Steve
Rivera, he's Jakin's house. Nobody else with us, So you got breaking
news. There we go. This is high on the Ball, breaking news
on Fox Sports fourteen fifty. All right, um, we'll just start with
a couple of couple of downers for some Arizona Arizona athletes. Um Stanley berry
Hill who got caught up in in a gambling thing, got suspended. He
has now been released by the Lion. What a great dude too, Yeah,
great dude. You know, you know when you're when you're a guy
who's fighting for a job and stuff. Can't do that right now. We
talked about this, actually talked about this yesterday because all this stuff went on
and I when I was stayed, you talked about that too, Yeah,
that you know, he got guys, you just got to be smart enough,
Stanley. He was halfway within the rules. NFL players are allowed to
gamble legally or you can't gamble in the NFL. But you also can't gamble
from a team facility, and he was at the team facility. You can
tell where people are. If you've been on one of these gambling sides,
you know, you have to give them access to your location so that they
know you're in allegal gambling state, so they know to the yard where you
are, and you know they g offensive places. So he wasn't supposed to
be betting from the facility. It came out that he was. He got
suspended. Now he's been released. Let me ask you this because I saw
that I was stuff coming back yesterday and I'm thinking you you're not surprised to
what that's happening. No, well, yes and no, because you know
we had Adam in here who worked you know when gambling was legally you know,
he was working in the AT fight department. He said, the number
one thing, the number one rule in working in an athletic department where you're
an at whether you're an athlete or a staff members, you can't gamble.
You can't on sports at all because because there's so many NC double A sports
that you know, you can't gamble of football. You can't camble on back
because They're like, if you're in the NFL, you're just football, right,
But you're in a college, you're in a college athletic program. You
got all the sports there, so you can't gamble on it. They just
say, do not gamble on anything. People get fired. Rick new Heisl
famously got fired for just being in the March March Madness. Pool Right lost
his head coaching football coaching job. So I'm surprising that people continue to be
done all right. I mean, twenty six athletes at Iowa State was the
last number I saw. Fifteen at Iowa all gambling. We're not supposed to.
No, we haven't heard anything, but there is a criminal investigation of
some sort, I think at Iowa State or one of them. What are
they shaving points? Now? Is that what we're what we're what are they
doing? But the bottom line is you can't gamble. So I'm surprised that
kids, anybody thinks they can get away with this. What I'm not surprised
about is that you know, people are trying to, you know, figure
away around this. If your college athlete just lay off, just don't It's
as simple as that, you know, But you know, people kill people
and they know they're not supposed to be they do, so what are you
gonna do? But um, anyway, Stanley Burial, it's too bad and
he's probably not gonna give another shot either. I would because because of that,
because because of that, you know. So that's too bad. So
let's see what happens. Um. Also a Jade Leville, the guard from
Arizona women's basketball who was drafted thinking the sixth round, I think the last
round of the the w NBA Draft. She was released today by the Seattle
Storm. So she's looking for a job. Let's see if she wins them.
And how many people at the Phoenix? Mrker? Is it just uh
just Sam Thomas sometimes Kate, that's it? Um. A couple of deaths
in the family. Um uh uh Joe cap who worm spartan warm spot in
my heart because I loved him when he was playing, uh with the with
the Vikings. He was just he was a guy who didn't look like he
could or should be a quarterback. His his his passes were always wobbly,
he didn't have an arm. He was kind of clunky, uh, a
little awkward, but he got the Vikings to a super Bowl against the Chiefs.
Um. Then he he had played at Cal, went on to become
the coach at Cal. Was famously the coach and that uh in the the
play the kickoff in the Stanford Cal game. Uh, he was the coach
of that. He's the one who called, uh, you know, the
the lateral play that they did just scored that touchdown. He was also the
coach that started the downfall of the eighty three Arizona team that was undefeated,
went to Cal, was up twenty six to three, ended up tying the
game, and then that team went into the pooper. I'll give you a
couple more tidbits on him. What'd you call him? Clunk passes? Yeah,
he was the clunky guy, awkward kind of guy. Yeah, guess
where he was born in New Mexico, Santa Fe, New Mexico. In
fact, his book because I knew that as a kid. I think his
book was one of the first ones I've ever read as a kid, like
a young kid, thinking he was just dude from my home tim hometown.
But in the pro he was a pro football quarterback. And I'm thinking,
you see, I could do it. I know I could do it.
So I read this story on Joe Cab being born in Santa and famously was
in one of the all time great sports movies, The Longest Longest he had,
the Longest Yark, the original I'm looking at his chase now, yeah,
yeah, yeah, he was in the Original Longest Yark. So just
somebody that you know, I kind of grew up. Yeah. Yeah,
that's complications of dementia, which is yeah, that's just the worst. That's
how But he quarterbacked calt to Rose Bowl. Then that was the last time
they were in the Rose Bowl in nineteen fifty nine. So, um,
all right, and then also Denny Crumb has passed away three i think eighty
six six six six final fours of Louisville, two national titles. Um,
genuinely good guy. He's the one the tournament to a blue blood. Yeah,
yep, there's the thing. There's a there was a college football report
did a blue blood analysis that I got to find again, okay, we'll
have that conversation. And basically Arizona they don't they only have like five.
It's it's a it's a small girl. Yeah yeah. But Denny Crumb,
who again, you know, good guy by by all accounts, you know,
people love sure. I mean he was famously well, one of Wooden's
assistants, right, I think right, he was back in the day.
Right, he was a John Wooden assistant got Louisville to the Promised Land.
So, um he was in there. Um. You see women's golf has
mentioned. Um they are tied for fourth at the NCUBA Regional. They're in
Raleigh, North Carolina. But it's bunched up fourth out of twelve, but
you have to finish in the top five. They're tied for force. So
basically they're in the top five, but only by a stroke. North Carolina
State leads at minus six ACU A second and minus four and Wake Forest at
plus one Arizona pro due a plus two than Florida State plus three TCUO plus
fourth. They're all bunched up. That's after two rounds. You one more
round tomorrow. Top five go to the national championship, which will be played
here in uh in Phoenix. All right. Um. The interesting note this
just came across a little bit agoing. This is probably more of a conversation
than breaking news, but uh, the story was done. That's it was
basically about Washington football by Christian Capel, who one of the one of the
Washington fan bases As reports that twenty or fifty two percent of the twenty twenty
one Pack twelve recruit football recruiting class has gone into the transfer forty fifty two
percent. You have transferred out. More than half of the guys that were
recruited to Pack twelve schools are gone after two seasons. That's a little worse
than the divorce ry are a little bit better. I should say two years.
I wonder what the wedding, the marriage things up in two years.
No, No, that's a lot. And I don't know if it's because
of being unhappy or because of NL, but I would assume it's time play
time unhappy. You know, guys who have an extra year to play,
you know, can go somewhere and they say, Okay, you know,
I still got four years left, I'm gonna go here, or I still
got three years, I'm gonna go here. But twenty twenty one recruiting class
fifty two percent gone after two seasons, So people who are basically sophomores eligibility
wise, right out of here, I thought that was a really really interesting
stat um. Okay, we got to circle back to this because we reported
this when it happened. But matt Araiza, the punt god from San Diego
State and a couple of years ago, got caught up in a in a
the Bills, right, so yeah, he had got he had been drafted.
Uh pretty hot sixth round pick. Was an alleged gang rape when he
was in high school. Um charges were never filed. Uh. He the
same as Jaden Delora. There was a lawsuit, his name came out in
it. Uh, the Bills released him immediately. Acrossecutor from the San Diego
District Attorney's Office has come out and said that there in their investigation, they
determined that he could not have been at the at the at the side of
the rape at the time of the rape, that he had left this party
and they have video evidence that he was no longer there when this thing happened.
Crop, your whole life has been screwed up. And then and then
the lawyer for the for the victim is saying that they're not going to be
bullied into dropping the lawsuit and that the case is going to trial and that
they are going to it. Says we will force a rise at a talk
whatever that means. So they're not letting him out of the lawsuit. But
the but the San Diego prosecutor said he was not there and they have proof
of that. So whatever that means. Okay, do you see what the
Tiger Woods is going through? Yeah? Again, still worse tight Tigers.
You know you know what he just needs. He just needs to stay single.
Hey, be away, Tiger. If you're gonna listen to me,
this is what you should listen to me about. One thing. Tiger starts
a million or otherwise interesting stat heading into the heading into the Sun's the Sun's
game tonight. Um, only two pairs of teammates in NBA history NBA history
have put together thirty five plus points each in back to back games. Obviously,
guess who two of them are. Oh, the only other teammates to
do that ever, Jerry West and Elgin Bayley. So they're going for three
tonight, but they're in Denver. He thinks that would have called you.
He called yesterday. I goaded him into calling us. What he said,
Uh, he said that this son's gonna kick their butts and they they they're
two and two. Played at home. I would I love you steal me
a dinner? Yeah, I I I you know, I kind of I
called him out, told him I had to call it. Yeah, yeah,
but he called yesterday. We had a little had a little chat.
He still feels pretty confident about about sons sons for him. Hey, you
know what, come on, man, I mean you know, uh,
you know what do you of course he's gonna he's gonna stick with this guy,
all right, Um, big game Boomer comes out with the best college
mascot in every state. Okay, this will be interested. It's a map
of the map of the United States. Got the best mascot? Does it
say why or otherwise than just it's just a map with the with the best
mascot. This will be interesting. Let's go through the PAC twelve. Okay,
because there's what every one, two, three, there's five states in
the PAC twelve County Washington, Oregon. You see Washington, Oregon, Sistornia.
I'm gonna take no, that's mascot. He's pretty looking, good looking
at lah Okay, the bear, who do you think it is in the
state of Colorado? Uh? Buffalo, Yes, in the state of Washington.
Uh. But the Washington in the state of Oregon. Yeah. The
duck in the state of Arizona. That's a tough one tough alright, one.
I think I see that. I think I see the devil more than
I do the Wildcat. So the Wildcat Arizona. Wow, Yeah, I
like that. I like that. Okay. In the state of Alabama,
who you gotta go with, Alabama? Auburn's got the war Eagle, dude,
Okay, Yeah, I was gonna say Albert Night. Then I said,
well, it's obvious, it's not a trick question. Okay, Texas,
I gave it up. Yeah, but that's a cool mask. He
looks good. He looks goods Okay. In New Mexico, Thelobo, all
right, Globo, even though they shouldn't. Hey, I didn't not even
claim an enemy shoe anymore. So many issues. I'm sure you saw what's
going on. Last let me let me say no, I won't say it.
I won't go ahead, no, no, because I'll say I got
a minute left. So Aikin was here, right, what is the name?
That was? Basketball player that was here and making he played maybe a
few games, and then he left mysteriously ends up at New Mexico State,
and then it's part of this mess, right, he is part of this
part of a big part of it. What the hell. I mean,
no one's ever said what he left here right officially? No, officially,
and then he goes over there and then creates messes over there. Come on,
come on the mess it's a mess over there. It's just all over
the place. Yeah, all over the place over there. Yeah. Yeah,
um, it is what it is, just but it's not a good
man. What about Florida, Florida, Miamim. Yeah, they've got the
it looks like a duck, but it's not a duck. What they call
you. It's got a weird name, you know. Okay, all right,
let's take a break. We're gonna have a Corey Williams to come in
and talk about Tucson Summer Pro League, his league for youth that are gonna
be playing out this summer at this at the Gregory Grey School. But also
ask him a little bit about oh wait, wait, wait, he just
texted me he can't do for seventeen Apparently he got into him. Four thirty
five thirty five. Okay, so we'll be back then we'll head out of
here. We'll take your calls. Uh five two zero four one, six
seventy four forty We're gonna tr to get coryon for the last segments, So
stick around a because you're a four in six seventy four, forty one.
You give us a call next segment aft to the break we'll bring back.
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Radio Whip. This is I on the Ball with Steve Ribera and Jay Gonzalez
on Fox Sports fourteen fifteen. Hey, welcome back to the barcan on Fox
Sports fourteen fifty. If he's Jay, we'll get Corey about four forty four
thirty six round there. Um, okay, Hey, I don't know you.
You've watched this. Obviously the coach at the basketball coach at USC's collecting
some talent. Yes, people were saying that USC. There's already some people
picking USC to win back twelve next year. They have talent with Bronnie.
Is it Ronnie gonna be there next year for the year. Now he's two
years, he's a twenty twenty four recruits. So here's the way to you
yeahbly not this coming year with the next Okay, Dennis Rodman's son is gonna
be head to transfer the Rodman in the tent. Now he'll play next year.
And he was he was really good. I mean, he's you know,
if you recall he was. He hit a bunch of three pointers in
that second half against Arizona down here to win that game for those guys.
He was really good. Right, So we'll see if the coach tell me
his name. I forget stuff already. Uh Andy, who's who's highly thought
of when he got there, hasn't really done what he was. He's been
close, right, He's been close. But that's some good teams. He's
had some good talent, but he hasn't He hasn't gotten gotten over the right.
So now maybe he's got some talent enough talent to do that. Yeah,
you noticed that there's no transfers from you UCLA leaving basketball right from that.
But they lost a lot of guys, lost a lot of guys.
But still they've lost their they lost their whole starting line up to uh to
the draft, to the robson the draft intelligible. But still you know how
people in this town hate, yeah, hate the coach. Well, well,
there was a there was a thing yesterday that we talked about. It
had I think Brian Peterson. I saw us to schools and how many transfers
Arizona had five transfers. Well, Ucla at zero, then a couple of
schools had four, then Arizona had five. Yeah, schools are nine eight.
Yeah, yeah, I know schools. It's it's a crazy time.
Like you said, fifty two percent, two percent of the football recruits from
twenty twenty one all have left there. I like you, Steve, but
I don't want to be with you, so I gotta go. It sounds
familiar that, all right. So okay, so I dug that, I
dug this back up, and I mentioned it a little bit of breaking as
we should talk about it. So College Basketball Reporter, which does similar things
to what Big Game boomers, Okay, they put out they're all time college
Basketball Tier. Will we fight about this? No? I don't think no,
because you know what I'm kind of you're following me a little bit softening
up. I get good. I like it. I like it, all
right. So they listed blue bloods next in line, next four out.
I think I've seen this because I've seen this before. Great programs, the
programs, respectable programs. Other blue bloods. Okay, Kansas, Duke,
Kansas, North Carolina, Kentucky, UCLA five five blue bloods. That's it
and correct okay, and those are all yeah, okay without it, that
says next in line, Louisville, Yukon. Okay, who else you canill?
Um? Number of championships? Uh you um, number of championships?
Hold on, you caught me off guard here I have to go um um
tell me Indiana, Oh, Indiana, And that's kind of yeah, Bellanova
okay, Michigan State, Okay, perfect sense. So what are they doing
in fives? No? Not necessary? No, not necessarily. So she
says, the next four out, So that's ten. So that right there
is ten, okay, next four out of the of the conversation. What's
as blue bloods? Next in line, next four out out of the conversation.
So that's the Arizona is likely in this. Arizona's probably likely in this.
Who I want to say, Texas, but I'm not sure that they
deserve that. Florida maybe no um man man man man man mision, Michigan,
Michigan, Oh House State State, Arizona give me think, old grumpy,
fart head coach, you just retire. Yeah, that makes sense.
But Arizona is in the top fire in the next four they're in the top
fourteen. Yeah, yeah, I agree, which to me, I guess
no, because you know what, I'm not willing to call Michigan in the
house state of blue blood. I would, I could see, I could
category ize Syracuses a blue blood. So yeah, but they've only won one
tournament, right, This is a This is a much tighter definition of a
blue blood. And I'm I'm okay with that. Yeah, yeah, yeah,
yeah. And your argument. I'm slapping into your argument too, because
you said top fifteen and I said, no problem with that. But it's
not it's not in that blue blood. It's a great program without a reputation
of a great program. But so the next category he calls it, they
call it great programs. Okay, Texas, Texas, there's there's one,
two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight nine.
Geez, you get throw the whole thing in there. Texas seventeen programs.
The next year, Oregon, um, you've got Nope, during the next
year after that as well, Holy We'll give me. There aren't anymore pack
Oh, there's one pack. Yeah, there's one pack twelve team in there.
Who Washington, Utah's in there? Basketball? Yeah, yeah, they
got a final foreign Okay, yeah, but they were didn't win. Cincinnati,
Gonzaga, Arkansas, Marquette, Houston, Illinois, North Carolina State,
Oklahoma State, Oklahoma, Kansas State, Maryland, Virginia, Utah, Perdue,
Wisconsin, Florida, u n l V. Come No, Oregon in
the Oregans in the next round. Yeah, Oregans done more than than a
lot of those teams out there. Tanks. They've got Cal in there.
No, there's no way they got Temple, Oregon, LSU, Cal,
Baylor, West Virginia, San Francisco. Uh no, wait a minute,
I thought that was Gonzaga. But that looks like Gonzaga. I think they're
flowed after the first fourteen. And if you're gonna put so many in their
Organs, not in their Texas order Dame Texas, Memphis, Iowa. Who's
Georgetown, Georgetown, that's Georgetown under great programs. Look, then you got
Gonzaga a stepula, Come on, come on. The last twenty years,
Gonzaga has been one of the most successful programs in the country. Yet twenty
five years and be speaking of your your boy, Andy Enfield. They've got
in the last in the last row, says respectable programs you've got You've got
Stanford in there, You've got USC in there. Uh, Xavier is in
there, Tennessee Alabama, Missouri BYU West Virginia in there. Uh I saw
what see West Virginia hire. No, West Virgia is not on this list
at all. That's a who's whose list? Is this? They're called College
Basketball Report, They're a Twitter feed. Okay, I'm not too sure about
that list is in there at the bottom. I'm not sure about that list.
I mean, come on, Georgia, you have to you have to
agree with that. And comes Stanford has gone to fine and four and the
last some years, I mean they beat Arizona, who ninety eight, They
got further than Arizona. Oregon has had a better program over a lot of
those schools that you mentioned, Temple and all these what But you know,
Oregan has only been good though for a few years. Okay, well most
recent was the last time Temple was any good? Yeah, long time,
a long time since since the last time he was choking Calipari. And I'd
say that joking but it's true. Didn't really happen. It really, that
really did happen. Steve to prove a point, you honor. All right,
so there you go. I just thought to bringing that up. I
have to. Yeah, you know, I think the flow beyond the first
fourteen because that list of eighth or whatever it was, that's kind of wish
you watching. Yeah, the frings with the first after the fourteen, the
big that's kind of well, you can throw a lot of teams in there,
right, you're right, right and not be wrong, but team right.
If they put some teams you can move, you know, you can
these these Uh, it's like putting Nebraska and Free It's like putting Nebraska in
in the top twelve and they haven't done something in a long time. Yeah,
but they're still Nebraska in our world. Yeah, in our world,
right in the kids were your son's world? Nebraska? What exactly exactly?
The all right? Um, okay, it looks like the NBA is gonna
invite this. According to the Wildcaster that Zulas to Ballas may be invited to
the co draft combine. Wow wow, but could this let me ask you
something. If we have three and a half minutes before we get to courty.
Um, would this be more of a surprise or which you would be
in the biggest surprise Dylan Terry, because at this time last year we're thinking,
uh, he's just gonna test the water. He's gonna there's no way
he's gonna stick around, he's gonna come back. Or is this more surprising
that he gets drafted, that he gets that he's going this far in he
could possibly get drafted, he's going to the combine. Well, if he
goes to the combine, you know he gets the chances, yes, exactly.
Which one is more surprising because last year, you know we said,
okay, he's just doing the test of waters, blah blah blah, and
then he gained some steam. It's difficult, Yeah, but you know Dalon
Terry was not the Pactall Player of the Year. True, but you know
that that Dalon Terry has more NBA potential than a game than in Zulas because
he can do though. That's why I ask which is more surprising Zulus?
Zulus needs to work on his outside game. Well, if he goes,
if he can go over and show that he's got an outside game, maybe
he will. He'd been sleeping not sleeping at all the last well, but
he was playing a position where they didn't want him to do that. Sure,
but you still have to do it. I mean, you still have
to go and do it if you're gonna do it at the next level.
Because his game is does not translate. It does not again be tweener,
right, He's not. He's not. He's Michael Wright a little bit out
of the Michael right from the premier because they're gonna say, I mean,
they're gonna say that he's he's not six to eleven. He's probably gonna be
six nine and a half. It's like Peter Sex for the first time when
SI when the Who's a Memphis? Who's Who's Sibonis? Memphis Memphis? So
people are seeing him for the first time because they were playing in the playoffs
right now, and people there's a kid on the Memphis that looks a lot
like Azulas No duh no, no dub where you've been, right and Azulas
not Siboni. Yeah exactly, so I I yeah, I mean, I
mean, nothing's changed as far as but he's gonna get his chances, which
is fantastic more than you thought, right, right, more than I thought.
Yeah, good for him. All right, Hey, okay, I've
got another minute. So because we got to make sure we get to we
get Corey at the right time. So um oh, here's an interesting thing.
So the Georgia football team has declined their White House invitation. Wow.
I'm just opening it up to see why. Wow. Um it says the
date suggested is not feasible given the student athlete calendar and time of year.
However, we are appreciative of the invitation and look forward to other opportunities from
Georgia teams movie forward. They were trying to get him there. On June
twelve. I was with the University Bears on a basketball team when they went
to see Um Clinton. I think Clinton, Yeah, Um looked more provincial
presidential than than the president. Right, But the kids had a great time,
because come on, how many come on, how many times you do
that? Yeah? You did did it once? How many times? I
didn't get to go to the White House visit? But I actually was there
for there was a big reception that te he helped sponsors if I got to
go to that, but I was not at the actual White House. It's
just not what you think. It's small. It's like the rooms that it's
a small room people. Yeah, very well, that was what you said.
Because when we said, you know, we'd love to sponsor an event
with the you know, Arizona Congressional delegation, you said, well you can,
but you're not going to the ceremony. You don't even think you're going
to the ceremony. So just know that ahead before you push any money into
this and to have people here. This doesn't get you in and it didn't.
But okay, let's try now. We can go now and come back.
All right, let's take a break. We're gonna come back. We'll
have Corey Williams well again. We'll talk is the Tucson Summer Pro League and
then also get into some conversation with him about Arizona basketball. See what he
thinks. We'll be right back. If you're an Arizona man's basketball fan,
you know it's been successful for nearly forty years. Now take a look back
at the Ludolson era in my new book, Lessons from Loot. It was
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is I on the Ball with Steve Rivera and Jay Gonzalez on Fox Sports fourteen
fifteen. Subscribe now to the podcast on the iHeart Radio app Just Surgery I
on the Ball. Hey, welcome back to Ying the Ball here on Fox
Sports fourteen fifty. I'm Steve Rivera. He's Jagonzos. Now have Corey Williams,
former UA hoopster back in the day and the Two Sounds Summer Pro League
founder. How are you, Corey. I'm doing good again. We're doing
fine. Thanks for joining us. What year are you in now with this
program? Oh, there's our nineteenth summer coming up. Nineteenth summer. Who
would have thought that, right, you've done very well with it. I'm
sorry, you've done very well with it. Who would have thought nineteen years?
Oh? Absolutely, It's been a great situation for us, and I
never would have thought we'd been going this long. But we've had a number
of people in the community that have opened doors and supported with sponsorships, so
it's been great. What's the primary goal of this why you do this for
obviously a really good reason. What in your mind are you trying to achieve
with this program in the summer. Well, to be quite honest with you,
I'm just basically I haven't trying to recreate my youth. I mean,
now, I was a very fortunate kid. I played basketball in the Chicago
suburbs during the eighties. It doesn't get any better than that. I mean,
I grew up playing at parks, I grew up playing at rec centers.
There are lots of adults that would open up the gym boys and you
know, I mean it all the way to University of Arizona without paying a
dime to play basketball. And I never felt like, at a certain age,
a kid's participation in sports shouldn't be about money, it shouldn't be about
their resources. So for me, I go on to the community and I
spake my little tin Trump and trying to get people to help me out so
that we can give kids a great league, the great experience for not a
lot of money, because unfortunately a lot of sports now they you have to
pay have access to sports. And I'm not from that era. And even
though it's just one man in one city with one league. I just really
wish that things could be a little bit different than they are now for young
people, because sports gives you so much and it shouldn't depend on your financial
situation whether or not a kid gets involved. So what's your estimation of the
number of kids that have come through the doors for you? Oh, I
got to say, we're somewhere around this is so. I think we're definitely
over a thousand kids easy. Maybe I take somewhere around twelve thirteen hundred kids
so far that we since we started the kids division. He talked about players
and two SOCCs from our pro league as a whole. Now we're talking about
i'd say maybe twenty five hundred and three thousand people right nineteen years and real
quick. Not included the guys, the older group that you had before,
but the younger kids. You know. Yeah, I'm sure you see him
now, many of them who have come and gone in high school basketball,
maybe even some playing college. Yeah, it's so great to see guys,
you know. I remember we built an album place for year age. When
he first walked in our gen I demanded paperwork on him. I was like,
there's no way, the thirteen he's like six seven at thirteen, but
he gave the team major And I've seen a lot of the young kid Titus
Palmer, who's having a decent high school career and looking to play afterwards.
When we see the kids go on and continue their career, it's just really
rewarding because for me, I know that when you're about Kate between eight to
twelve, eight to thirteen, that's when you fall in love with the sport,
and basketball gets harder for you as you get older. So if you
don't love it, kids are more out to quit if they're not in love
with it. So my job is to let them have fun, makes upball
in love with basketball so they'll stick with it as it gets more and more
difficult. Well that's where I wanted to go for a second. So what
you're trying to do is to give them an experience that they'll they'll remember,
they'll not not just treasure, but then also get something from it from a
skill standpoint and experience standpoint. Whether you're as you said, whether you're eight
years old or twelve years old, right, absolutely, I mean there's got
to be a reason for kids to step on the court. If they liked
the game, if they're playing with their friends. Us For me, by
sportsune and outlet, it was wait for me to kill time and hanging out
with my buddy. So we just played basketball literally by default, that was
our primary outdoor activity. For young people, I feel like, you know,
they got to have a reason, they got to be motivating it,
they're having fun. It's a lot easier to get them out there because the
true secret is all sports and most everything in life is all by repetition.
So if you like something and you're doing it a lot because you like it,
then you're going to get better. Whether you mean to or not,
you're doing because you're going to get the reps in. So our focus is,
let's let's get the reps in and the phone in the atmosphere. And
you know that's that's really what's going to need the kid to further development down
down the road. It's funny you say that because, um, having been
a ballplayer, but you've been a bigger ballplayer. If you don't repeat and
repeat, wax, repeat rints and all that stuff, and you're right,
you know, it's just repetition, repetition and playing and playing that's how you
get paid better. I mean that's the secret sauce right there. It's the
secret sauce, and you have to disguise it because if you just bring a
kid in the gym and make them do the same thing over and over,
they're gonna get bored. They're gonna quit. Right But you know, they're
running, they're running the court, and they can lay ups, they're passing,
they're high fives, and every time they do something good, they're they're
cheering when they get a steal. They're getting the rep sin in the atmosphere
where they don't even realize it. And that's to be it what we try
to do. But you're a hundred percent right, Like getting a kid to
develop their skill at that age when they're not there's not a muscle development,
So there's no beer than to lift weights it, there's no good fee to
make them run sprint. They're too young for any of that in my opinion.
Now I know that there's parents who hire trainers at that age, but
I think middle school, you're you're wasting your time, you're rating your money.
The kids not even developing yet. So let them enjoy the game.
But I'm fun and then you can start with the skill development. And mustle
development to cardio and all that other stuff. They've got the rest of their
life to do that. So I just want the kids to come in and
have a good time and enjoy basketball, pressure free situation, pressure free environment.
So you had you had an event over over the weekend where kids in
come and you know, kind of experienced this for the first time. And
then is that to kind of help them decide if they want to come for
the summer program? I mean, what was the purpose to put you guys
get over the weekend. Well, the other philosophy is that, you know,
we want a competitive league, so we want to space the talent out
and build the teams in the league even leacause the kids have the better experience.
So if we got a first timer on a team, we make sure
we have one or two first timers on every team. So there's kids at
every level playing against your life competition. So that makes it a lot better.
So the purpose of the open run it's kind of a meet and greet
to kind of lightly evaluate the kids being where they're skill on with that so
that when we do start the league and we have our rosters, that we
try to have a competitive league. I think we don't obviously try to manipulate
the outcomes of the games, but we do want to build the teams even
so that the kids have fun. And you know, there's nothing fun about
twenty five point blowout at half time. I think that that's when a lot
of bad habits, chick in bad attitudes, kids get disconnected. And not
to sound old, but I think this younger generation is very, very sensitive
to how they look, and no one wants to be getting the shot block
and getting be thirty. I mean, kids just unplubed. They just something
they don't want to do that that play. You see the emergence of au
club ball, where everybody plays with their friends and the team full of good
players, so nobody quote unquote looks bad. Well, you don't get to
play with your friends forever. So I'm not a really I'm not really a
fan of that concept. But it's just me so I correct in saying this
that you are going to start a women's league now or a little girls league
now for the first time. Yeah, we used to be. We used
to be Agent ten through thirteen co ed. But the truth is I was
behind the times in that thinking because there were a lot of girls that didn't
mind playing with boys. But what ended up happening was we had you know,
there's such a talent and side difference between and eleven, a ten year
old and thirteen year old, and then I thought we started to be a
horrible girl player. So I was like, you know what, let's go
out on the limb and launch, you know, our first ladies division of
girls ten through thirteen. So we've got a good talent, spread, a
good age friend. Um, we've got some first timers, we've got the
girls that are obviously more skilled in advance. It's going to be a lot
of fun. And I told the girl that you guys are part of the
first year team, our first year in league. And I said, you
guys to get a chance to be historically the first year we've done a girls
division. I'm sure it'll get stronger and bigger and better every year from now.
When you when you're doing all this, are you are you seeing that
you know, youth basketball in Tucson, Uh, you know, is you
know getting really good? I mean you've got kids coming out. You know,
it's probably not Chicago, It's probably not you know some of these other
places. That's sort of hotbeds. But how do you see the youth talent
improving here and how much of a part of that is what you're doing well.
I think Tucson has a ton of youth talent. What I've noticed is
because two Sign it's so big, it does come down to resources. The
majority of the kids, middle school aged kids, whether it's the South side
or the West side or the far north side. The kids that play in
our league over at the Gretlin School primarily are the kids who can get arrived
there. And that doesn't sound like much, but when you really think about
it, it's huge because there's a number there's numbers of kids who just can't
get that far over to the gym. So that's something that I me and
my staff were talking about the other day, like resources, having parents who
have the free time to drive law pick you up, your ability to get
two things determine the talent until two Sign is moted the talent And by no
means does my league represent all the talent that's in the two Side. There's
a lot of kids that unfortunately still can't get there. And we're working on
those type of solutions too, so we can try to get those kids over
to the gym. Yeah, well nights, Okay, we have a lot
of time left. But I wanted to ask you, how do people get
more involved? Now? Who do they find you? The website? Yea
reach out to me on the website. It's two s spl dot com.
If they go there my emails there, you can cheat the email and hopefully
we can connect. This league has survived because there are so many good business
people and Two Signs who don't mind donating a little money to help them leave.
And they have been with us since, you know, for the half
nineteen years. I have a group of friends that are known for a long
time, and then I just friends because they're sponsors. They literally come down
to the gym and they have a great time with us. And so it's
the two sent them approbly for a reason, because I want all the two
song to be a part of it. No matter what your business, no
matter what side of town you live on. We want everybody in that gym
having fun during summer and some of the best basketball. Well the basketball knows
because the kids now, but back in the day you had you had much
or must watch basketball. When the guys from the UVA came back with the
X guy, the Jts, the Richards would come back and destroy some of
the guys that were on the team. Now you had, you had a
lot of fun. Tell me you didn't. Oh, man, you know,
it's an unbelievable thing. It is almost too good to be true when
you talk about it and you think about what was actually taking place with current
wildcasts playing against former wildcat mixed in with the best guys in the city.
I mean, there were some great games, tons of NBA players, I
mean, standing room owning crowd. I mean, those those first years of
the Pro league were magical, and now everything's so much more developed. NBA
guys don't play summer league basketball anymore. They're too valuable, they make too
much money. Even college accolgue, unless you're talking about a few handful of
proms. College accoletes don't play pickup ball in the summertime much anymore either.
So you think has changed so much in two thousand and four, two thousand
and fives m But you're right, those glory games were unbelievable. Anything about
the talent we had on the floor and the way the league was the structured
back then. Yeah, okay, just and maybe can you review. Having
you probably saw maybe fifty basketball games this year. What a crazy, crazy
season we saw. You know, it was a crazy season. And we're
talking about the Wildcats correct, correct and natural nationally, you know, with
what the Final four wound up being and all that stuff. Well, the
one thing that I noticed is not enough people pay attention to the transfer portal,
and a lot of people are driven are almost are guilty of it.
We follow the narratives delivered on Fox, ESPN and so on, and suport
and the blue blood still get all the games on national TV. They're the
ones that gets put in everyone's face about the season, and then everybody goes
to sell out their bracket based on what they've been shown. All of a
sudden, Miami's been the final four as they used in the Final Four.
I mean, it's the narrative, doesn't reality, and that's always been March
madness. But this year was really crazy because I don't think anybody had those
number one to lose any Stow Arizona, get Penson. I mean, it's
not possible to watch all two hundred and something Division one programs and know how
to sell up your bracket correctly. But yeah, you're right, this year
was ridiculous because so much talent had shifted. The one consecutive thing was,
the one consistent thing was the successful teams had upperclassmen. That's never been to
change. If you gotta win four or five six games in a row,
you can't do it with superstar freshman. They got one foot in the NBA
already. They're not focused, they're not going to pliny. They don't know
how to desfend. You can throw jump defenses at them and shut them down
for a game. You can't gamble on the guys that have the most notoriety.
You gotta go with guys you know how to execute the game plan,
and every culture call you that's upper classing. Yeah, and maybe finally if
you have and maybe finally, uh Corey m oh, you have a So
they lose in the first round. You mentioned that with Princeton. You went
through two of these things, I think in ninety three and then ninety five.
Did it this year it seems like it diminished the whole year. Everybody's
pissed. Yeah, yeah, give reasons, blah blah blah. In ninety
three when it happened, because you guys were very good, and then ninety
five. You know JB gets hurt, blah blah blah. Did it take
away from the success of the season. Unfortunately, Arizona is always going to
be a program they measure by the postseason. I remember we thought they were
going to ride in the streets the year that the street was broken. We
didn't make the postseason. Um, that's just the nature of the beast.
And you can't sit here and complain about that but enjoy sold out home games
when other teams in the conference can't even get three thousand people in the same
So you gotta take the good with the bad. Yeah, Rizona will always
be judged by the postseason, but Arizona basketball will always remain popular for people
who too far to care about it. They're gonna come to every game.
It don't matter who Arizona's playing. The gym is going to be passed.
So yeah, you know that you're it can go back for your in the
tournaments. The thing about Arizona basketball in our day one, when we got
bounced in the first round, those groups, that's how the seiors went out
and the rest of the guys on the team are like, man, I
don't want that to be my senior year, So that was our motivating factors,
bouncing back from Santa Clair has then getting to the finer fuller the following
year, you know, you know, game and graduated and it was like
okay, now froinally our turns along the show. So you have this ownership
of each season to what you hope with Arizona this year is the guy that
are remaining Hella Omar, they take ownership and want revenge for what happened in
the past year. You know that's what you really want. Um, you
want your guys that are still with the pro ram to have a chip on
their shoulder and do everything to get back to that first round game and then
have a good run in next year's turn to me. Yeah, okay,
Corey, thanks a bunch. We're gonna share your stuff from the from the
league right on our page. We'll just gonna be more mentions starts it.
We're going to get like twenty seconds when is the start Jen third in the
first game. We've had our tryouts. But we can still have kids.
He definitely had a lot more girls to the reading stuff. You've got young
girls that I want to let him know. Thank you. Hey, thanks
a whole bunch or appreciate you, appreciate your time. Harry Williams from you.
Big guy does a lot for the community, a good stuff and it's
great that he did. You know, he talked about, you know,
how he grew up in Chicago, what he's doing this here, you know,
to be to understand how meaningful it is to have a guy like Corey
Williams doing what he felt he needed, sure in Chicago, but he's he
brings it here and he has stayed here to sure. Did you go those
games back in the day. I want a few of the love you you
know. Uh, the Gregary School is were my going to school and stuff.
It was always a blast, crazy competition. All right, man,
Steve, I'm glad you're back. I mean to appreciate, appreciate the fact
that you came back, and I'm gonna go party. Tend to stick around
for a while. Okay, Hey, thanks for being here today, everybody.
We'll be back tomorrow. You have a great evening.